1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the construction industry, namely, to geocell structures, and may be used for reinforcing water basin shorelines and beds, slopes, embankment cones, retaining walls in oil- and gas, transport, hydraulic engineering and other fields of construction, where geocells should have high and stable parameters of strength and endurance.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
The GEOWEB geocell for slope stabilization is known in the art, which is made of polymer strips interconnected in staggered order with a preset pitch along their transverse ribs and fixed on a slope in their stretched state so as to form rhomboid cells (see: RU Patent No. 2152479, E02D17/20, 2000).
Also, a geocell is known that is formed by strips of a polymeric material arranged on a polymeric base so as to form cells for confinement of a bulk material, which walls are partially bent in the direction opposite to that of a slope grade (see: CH Patent No. 652155, E02D17/20, 1985).
A geocell is known that is made of a polymeric material with rhomboid cells formed by perforated polymeric strips when this geocell is stretched, cell positions on a slope being fixed with anchors, and the cells themselves are filled with a bulk material (see: JP Patent No. 56016730, E02D17/20, 1981).
The known geocell designs for stabilization of soil structures cannot fully achieve the objective of fixing a material on a slope due to possible shift of such geocell down the slope under the influence of its filling material both during infilling a material into its cells and during the operation after infilling said material into cells, wherein said filling material being a peat-sand mixture, coarse gravel, or a combination of various bulk materials; in the result, a preset slope profile may be lost due to filling material accumulation at its base.
A geocell blank is known in the art that is made of a sheet material wherein apertures of a segmental shape are formed in rows, adjacent rows being offset relative to each other (see: RU Patent No. 2090702, 20 Sep. 1997). This geocell is formed by stretching said blank for achieving a cellular confinement structure. A drawback of this blank is that plastic deformation of the sheet material occurs when it is stretched, which may result in non-equivalent strength of the geocell. Moreover, the wall thickness in the formed cell, i.e. a distance between the borders of adjacent segmental apertures, is inconsistent. Stresses are concentrated in thinner parts of the walls, which reduces the geocell tensile strength.
The closest analog of the claimed invention is a sheet blank, a weld-free geocell produced therefrom as well as a method for producing said geocell that are all described in the Prior Art section of RU Patent No. 2090702, 20 Sep. 1997. This blank is made in the form of a polymeric sheet having slit incisions offset relative to each other. A weld-free geocell may be formed by stretching this blank. A drawback of this closest analog is low tensile strength of a geocell also, since stresses are concentrated at the ends of said slit incisions during stretching.